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The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 919.504
EAN: 9780618658985
Edition: 1
ISBN: 061865898X
Label: Mariner Books
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 528
Publication Date: December 08, 2006
Publisher: Mariner Books
Studio: Mariner Books
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Editorial Review:
In one of his most exotic and breathtaking journeys, the intrepid traveler Paul Theroux ventures to the South Pacific, exploring fifty-one islands by collapsible kayak. Beginning in New Zealand's rain forests and ultimately coming to shore thousands of miles away in Hawaii, Theroux paddles alone over isolated atolls, through dirty harbors and shark-filled waters, and along treacherous coastlines. This exhilarating tropical epic is full of disarming observations and high adventure.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Unapologetically Direct
A terrific read, Theroux has the courage to be politically incorrect in an age where Americans fear speaking the truth of their own experience.
As a travel writer myself, I am always astonished when someone is angered because my travel experience does not mirror his own, as is the case with other reviewers here.
Rating:  - Yes - he should have stayed home
It's been some years since I read this book but it still comes back loud and clear - what a bitter person he was. He "toured" the South Pacific right after he got divorced - and he distrusted and hated everybody. The book was published as we (me, wife and 2 teenagers) we sailing thru the SoPac in our sailboat - and having a wonderful time with the people, the islands, the beautiful environment - where people were happy and environmentally concerned - and this was 1991-1995. We loved it all and he ... Read More
Rating:  - Theroux should've stayed home....
Good grief, if I wanted a tale filled with hours of tooth-gnashing hatred and bitter invective I can just go to work. It's certainly not the sort of atmosphere I enjoy when reading a travelogue to try and escape my workaday existence.
I understand that the South Pacific is not the ideal place, but it is depressing to read Theroux' constant struggle to express any sense of joy in his travels or the people he meets along the way.
For an alternative, more light-hearted, still ... Read More
Rating: - A wonderful travel journal of a non-tourist !
Theroux is a master observer with a keen eye and a sharp wit. In this book he delves deep into Polynesia and Oceana and it's characters and culture.
He uses a collapsible kayak that he packs from place to place to help him get away from the troubles in his life. Along the way, he has plenty of encounters. The result of which is a funny and interesting look behind the scenes and in out of the way places at the way people on these islands live, what they believe and how they go about their ... Read More
Rating:  - Kayaking the South Pacific
Paul Theroux is a great travel writer, and among my favorite books is his look inside China in "Riding the Iron Rooster." This book, however, centers on his adventures paddling his way around the South Pacific. Among the places Theroux visits are Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, the Marquesas, and Easter Island; in all, he travels among fifty some islands, from large areas to tiny islets without habitation. Using a traditional form of transport to the area (well, an updated version anyway), he covers a huge area of ... Read More
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